(Closed) Alterations ruined my dress and now I hate it…help?

I’m not a “wedding girl” to begin with – I’ve never looked at bridal magazines, I never even thought about what style of dress I’d want to wear. All I knew is I wanted straps (I have a big chest). And because I’m not a wedding girl, I went to David’s Bridal.

I tried on a limited selection of dresses because when you want straps you don’t get much choice. So I bought the one I hated the least, which is the one below.

The problem was I had to buy a dress that was a size too big because it was all they had. In retrospect, It was probably about 3 sizes too big, but that’s not the point.

Then I brought it for alterations. A LOT of work had to be done because it was so big around my waist & top. I don’t think you can see it in the picture, but those straps are solid pieces that start under the bustline, come up in a twist, and then attach in the back. Guess what they did? THEY CUT THE STRAPS IN HALF. Now I have a seam right in the middle of the twists, which, of course, makes the twists crooked. It’s so bad that the left strap on the back is a good inch thinner than the one on the right because of how they sewed it together.

They were supposed to reshape the arm holes, which they didn’t do because now the dress stabs me right in the armpit and leaves a huge red welt. I asked if this can be fixed and I was told that they couldn’t bring it down any more because of “boob fat” (direct quote!) I’m going to pit it out in like 2 minutes on the day of the wedding, which will be so attractive!

Plus, the waist band no longer matches up at the seams, the hooks for the underbustle have left giant white strips of thread on the skirt, and the bow (there’s a giant ass bow on the back of the dress that trails to the floor) has silver hooks sewn on the back. This means if I move, you can see them.

And, finally, my friend came over last night to see the dress. She took one look at it and said – “It’s crooked.” And it is. They took more in on one side than on the other.

My wedding is in 3 weeks. I have never, ever, ever been beautiful a day in my life and my wedding day was the only day I was ever going to have to wear something nice and be beautiful. Now I’ll never get that. I honestly want to call the wedding off until I can afford another dress because I know I’ll be miserable all day and never able to look at the pictures.

Is there anything I can do to salvage this? Any words of wisdom that will help put this into perspective?

Please say you got it altered at Davids Bridal. If yes…Take it back and yell! They have to fix it or replace the dress.

If no, then you can take it to DB and see if it can be fixed, though it doesn’t sound like it. I would purchase another dress. Try DB and AA (they sell off the rack, and most have a huge collection of discontinued dresses).

Agree with PP, if you got it done at DB, they should know what size to order and how to alter properly which they did not. If they can’t get you a new dress in the right size in time, I would make them give you a dress off the rack and have them alter that one.

I am so, so sorry they screwed this up for you! I went through something similar… although what the seamstress did wasn’t as damaging. I found a salon that could rush order a new gown (there wasn’t an extra charge for it, but they did charge me extra for rushing the alterations on the new gown).

Whoever did the alterations really messed up, it sounds like. This is a legitimate reason to complain, and loudly. You should at least get your alterations money back, and possibly even payment for the dress, since it sounds like they ruined it. I agree with the others, if you got the alterations done at DB, this should be simple to fix — they should just give you a new dress. But even if you went to an outside seamstress — you’ve definitely got a leg to stand on.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to try to get a new dress, do you think there’s a way to salvage this one? Could the tailor even it out (for free)?

I would definitely go back to David’s Bridal for a full refund of the dress, and the alterations…then go to the another dress shop and buy off the rack and have a reputable alterations person do it….I know your wedding is 3 weeks away but if you want it I am a sure you can make it happen…

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words. I’ve already complained to DB and they didn’t do anything. I called and spoke to the manager and I could hear him rolling his eyes at me through the phone. So, I contacted their corporate office but no one has gotten back to me.

I’d love to buy a new dress but I don’t have any money to do so. Any words of wisdom that will help me just buck up and get through the wedding as World’s Ugliest Bride?

First things first, there is NO SUCH THING as an ugly bride! You could walk down the aisle in a burlap sack and you’ll be BEAUTIFUL.

Second, try calling the store back and demanding the phone number of the Regional or District managers. Coming from a retail background, most store managers are very reluctant to let their bosses know they have unhappy customers. I am a huge proponent of saying to a manager “You are unable to give your customer what they WANT and DESERVE and I would like the number of your direct supervisor”. And if THAT person can’t help you, say the same thing. Keep working your way up the ladder. Someone will get annoyed that they have to deal with the public and they’ll make sure to do something.

I sincerely doubt you will be the World’s Ugliest Bride! I’m so sorry they screwed up so royally. Could you wear a wrap or anything? Know a tailor or a mom who sews who might be able to fix it?

What size do you wear? Maybe someone here can help you find a bargain?

I’m sorry this happened!

If you end up wearing the dress as is, maybe it would help to remind yourself that as much as we all talk about dresses on this site, a wedding is really not about the dress. The most important thing happening on your wedding day will be you and your FI committing your lives to one another. You could do that wearing a paper sack! I sure you will look beautiful and most people will not notice the faults you are seeing with your dress.

I had the same feelings about not being beautiful on my wedding day. I was determined that this was the one day in my life that I was going to be beautiful and it meant so much for him to see me that way (I know, he already feels that way about me, but this was different). Every body issue I had came up for me when I thought about wearing a dress and being the focus of attention, if only for that short walk. Would you be able to find something in your price range from a department store? I know I saw something similar when I was shopping. (I’ll search for it and post it)

The rest of what you do really effects the overall image… your hair, makeup and jewelry. Are you having someone help with that? I don’t usually wear it or do much with my hair, so when he saw me dressed-up, it was a big difference. Treat yourself to a pedicure and have your hair done~ I know everyone says we are harder on ourselves than we need to be, so be as kind as possible. It’s not fun feeling this way, but the other emotions of the day took over for me, and I was so happy about getting married, I forgot about judging myself for once.